Newsroom

7 July 2026

Let's back Blackpool for City of Culture

Everybody in the Fylde coast is being encouraged to back a bid for Blackpool to be named the UK City of Culture 2029.

A graphic saying Let's back Blackpool. The image is Stanley Park with a variety of people enjoying cultural activity

Blackpool is one of nine places across the UK listed by the government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport to be in the running for the prestigious accolade.

If successful, Blackpool would receive £10m from the government towards a year-long celebration of arts and culture, to be enjoyed by local people as well as increasing the tourism economy.

As well as the grant, the title of City of Culture also brings additional funding, sponsorship and investment to support regeneration and events.

Blackpool Council’s Executive is being recommended at a meeting on 13 July to submit a bold bid that shows off an eclectic and electric mix of cultural activity and community events.

As part of it a campaign to back Blackpool’s bid is live across the area, with everybody encouraged to visit www.blackpool2029.co.uk to show their support.

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said:

 

“Blackpool is the birthplace of culture in the north. Our town and the wider Fylde coast grew around offering a cultural alternative to the smoke-filled cities of Manchester and Liverpool in the nineteenth century. “We are now finalising our bid for a year that will be like no other Blackpool, or anywhere else in the country, has ever seen. This is very much a bid with Blackpool at its heart, but covering the Fylde coast and Lancashire. “We have all our venues, attractions, community arts groups and more all contributing the programme and backing Blackpool’s bid. It could be a great opportunity to showcase the incredible work of local organisations like House of Wingz, Aunty Social and The Old Electric, alongside major cultural organisations and the best of Blackpool’s talent that’s been exported around the world. “If we can pull this off, it will be the biggest thing to happen to Blackpool in a hundred years. It will make everybody here proud of our vibrant, exciting home and it will remind everybody across the country why Blackpool is Britain’s favourite playground. “To top it all off, 2029 will be the year that we celebrate 150 years of the UK’s most loved and original free light show – Blackpool Illuminations – and the programme we are creating will bring that electrified agenda to the fore for everybody in the country to enjoy.”

Blackpool’s relationship with culture is full of variety. From Showtown Museum exploring the history of the iconic seaside resort, to the contemporary Grundy Art Gallery breaking visitor records during the visit of a Monet earlier this year.

In entertainment, Blackpool’s Winter Gardens has hosted the Royal Variety Performance three times in its history (1955, 2009 and 2020) and continues to host events ranging from West End musicals to World Dance Festivals. The town itself has been home to musical performances from The Beatles and Frank Sinatra, while also being the home of Sooty.

The prestigious national competition is led by the Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and runs every four years. The competition is open to cities, large towns and regions.

While not technically a city, Blackpool is the 45th largest place in the UK, with the Fylde coast home to over 250,000 people, which meets the bidding criteria.

Bradford was named City of Culture for 2025, with previous winners being Derry/Londonderry (2013), Hull (2017) and Coventry (2021).

The bid to government has to be submitted in August, with details of the final three shortlisted places in the autumn, and a final winner selected in the new year.

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